ISBN 9789956554201
Pages 138
Dimensions 216x140 mm
Published 2025
Publisher Langaa RPCIG, Cameroon
Format Paperback

Beyond the Boeing of Judgement

A Journey Through Time and Themes

by Francis B. Nyamnjoh

Francis Nyamnjoh’s ‘Beyond the Boeing’ is a poignant and evocative poem that transports readers to a celestial courtroom, where 64 souls from all walks of life await their final reckoning. Imagine a black baby, a South African white supremacist, Shakespeare, a female victim of exploitation, Pope John Paul I, Bob Marley, a Fon, Mandela, and Martin Luther King Jr. standing together in this dreamlike space, each with a story to tell. Their voices, etched with experiences of oppression, resistance, love, loss, and the relentless pursuit of justice, form a chorus that speaks to the complexities of the human condition. From the marginalised to the mighty, their testimonies weave a tapestry of existence, capturing both the triumphs and the struggles that define us. Nyamnjoh invites us to witness these souls baring their lives, seeking redemption or facing damnation. Through their diverse experiences, we are drawn into a profound exploration of our shared humanity, grappling with social injustice, abuse of power, and the clash between modernity and tradition. ‘Beyond the Boeing’ ultimately challenges us to contemplate the complexities of life, the search for meaning, and the pursuit of justice in a world often fractured by conflict and division.

“In ‘Beyond the Boeing’ Francis Nyamnjoh enters into a poetics of mischief, conviviality and curiosity in satirical and dramaturgical production curating his use of AI as a dialogue partner. Read this text as a thick description, and anthropological entreprise in what it means to post-human, cyborg, made of human histories which escape, evaporate and then reform as a strong cloud of unknowing. Nothing is what it seems in these dialogues.” Alison Phipps, University of Glasgow

“Nyamnjoh’s ‘Beyond the Boeing’ is an intricately woven poetic art form in which imagery and themes imbricate in an exploration of humanity’s moral journey, social dualities, and existential purpose.” Bill F. Ndi, University of Tuskegee

“‘Beyond the Boeing’ transcends its textual bounds to invite us, the readers, into the courtroom alongside its 64 souls, to be interrogated too – on our beliefs, our complicity, our understanding of justice. We are asked to witness, to listen, and to accept the impossibility of absolutes. We are brought into a philosophical and poetic masterpiece, where morality, responsibility, and redemption are not endpoints but questions to be carried and contemplated, endlessly and collectively.” Moshumee T. Dewoo, University of Helsinki

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About the Author

Francis B. Nyamnjoh

Francis B. Nyamnjoh joined the University of Cape Town in August 2009 as Professor of Social Anthropology from the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), Dakar, Senegal, where he served as Head of Publications from July 2003 to July 2009. He has taught sociology, anthropology and communication studies at universities in Cameroon and Botswana, and has researched and written extensively on Cameroon and Botswana. In October 2012 he received a University of Cape Town Excellence Award for “Exceptional Contribution as a Professor in the Faculty of Humanities”. He is recipient of the “ASU African Hero 2013” annual award by the African Students Union, Ohio University, USA. He is: a B1 rated Professor and Researcher by the South African National Research Foundation (NRF); a Fellow of the Cameroon Academy of Science since August 2011; a fellow of the African Academy of Science since December 2014; a fellow of the Academy of Science of South Africa since 2016; and Chair of the Editorial Board of the South African Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) Press since January 2011. His scholarly books include: Africa’s Media, Democracy and the Politics of Belonging (2005); Insiders and Outsiders: Citizenship and Xenophobia in Contemporary Southern Africa (2006); “C'est l'homme qui fait l'homme”: Cul-de-Sac Ubuntu-ism in Côte d'Ivoire (2015); and #RhodesMustFall: Nibbling at Resilient Colonialism in South Africa (2016).